US Civil War Advantages/Disadvantages

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Position

North: Offensive

South: Defensive

Number of States

North: 23

South: 11

Leaders

North: Lincoln, Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman, George B McCllelan, George Meade

• Already had army + navy

• War Democrats Vs Peace Democrats

South: Jefferson Davis (President), Robert E Lee, Thomas Jackson (Stonewall Jackson)

• weak government

• had better leaders

Capitals

North: Washington DC

South: Montgomery → Richmond (in deep South and surrounded by South)

Economy

North:

• Industrial and factories

• Control of National Treasury

• Taxes + tariffs

South:

• plantations (agriculture)

  • had 9000% inflation

Wealth

North:

• self sufficient

• diverse industry (lumberers, fisherman, merchants)

• currency

South:

• from plantations

  • started new currency (confederate dollars)

Credit

North:

• had good credit

• more bank deposits here

South:

• bad; no credit

• no loans

Supplies

North:

• manufactured their own weapons

• had more food and fresher food

South:

• lived off the land

• inedible produce (cotton, tobacco, indigo)

• dependent on imports

• hunted (was good training for marksmen)

Population

North: 22 million

South: 9 million + 4 million slaves (13 mil total)

Transportation

North: railroads going west; more railroads than South

South: bad railroads (each state had their own railroad, so at each state border the cargo had to be unloaded and reloaded onto a different train)

Communication

North: telegraph (had more than the South)

South: telegraph

Military

North:

• Strong navy

• Pre-existing military infrasture

• had cheap guns

• could easily replace armies

• had state militias

South:

• 7 out of 8 military colleges were in the South

• weaker navy

• better military leaders

• political leader was in military

Harbors

North: Boston, NYC (also had a lot of natural harbors, such as Philidelphia, Baltimore, etc.)

South: Virginia → Charleston, New Polk; Savannah, Georgia; New Orleans, Louisiana; Gavlenston, Texas; Willmington, North Carolina

Allies

North: Some UK Countries

South: UK (stopped support after Emancipation Proclamation becuase South’s Pro-Slavery Sentiment Exposed, and England is anti-slavery), France

Lincoln Lore

• Lincoln disliked slavery, but his main goal was to keep Union together

  • allowed slavery to remain, but not spread

• Steven Douglas (other Presidential Candidate) favored popular sovereignty

  • so, he was supported by South

    • if Lincoln won, every subsequent state joining would be free, eventually overpowering South in Federal Government

• Election of 1860: Lincoln won

  • South angered; South Carolina secedes, and the Confederacy forms

• Lincoln’s inaugural speech said Union was unbroken (he ignored the secession)

  • it was a gentle invitation to rejoin, but South saw it as a threat

• Northern generals during the Civil War were all kinda old and hesistant to attack, which pissed Lincoln off

Confederacy Forms

• Confederacy joined by Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida

• Jeff Davis was chosen as President of the Confederacy

  • thought they could live side-by-side with the Union

  • Meanwhile, Lincoln said it was unconstitutional, so he ignored the secession and considered South still part of the Union

• After CW started, 4 more states seceded (Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Virigina)

  • Maryland, Delware, and Kentucky stayed in Uion since they could keep slaves

    • Also, they’re on the border, so if they jioned the Confederacy they would border the enemy, and all the warfare would be in their lands

• In Missouri, sentiment was divided, and a mini civil war (like Bloody Kansas) happened

  • they ended up staying loyal to the Union

• Western Virginia didn’t have many salves and didn’t want to leave Union, so they broke off and became West Virginia)

Start of Civil War

• Many forts were in the South, and numerous mail services were there as well

  • Most forts joined the Confederacy, but Fort Sumter refused, so South Carolina refused to give food to Fort Sumter

  • Lincoln sent supply ships, but they turned away due to Confederacy guns

• Led to Firing on Fort Sumter (Apr 14, 1861)

  • Marked the start of the Civil War

North Vs South Backstory

• Robert E Lee wanted to keep the Union together but did not want to fight his family (in Virginia)

• Emancipation of enslaved people threatened Southerners, as there would be more competition in the job market (economic turmoil)

• Many thought the South might win

  • they had more experienced generals, knew the land, and knew how to live off the land

  • South had time to prepare defense

    • Shorter supply lines + communciation lines (makes them faster)

    • However, North had more railroads + telegraph lines

• South was less centralized

• South lost England as an ally after the Emancipation of Proclamation, since it exposed South as pro-slavery and England was not

• Southerners were hunters, farmers, gatherers

  • being hunters prepared them for being marksmen in war

• North had edible food, while South mainly grew cotton, tobacco, indigo, and grains

• Norht had more exports, leading to more money

• North had more states

  • they could tax more and had more state militias

• South created new currency, confederate dollars

  • was time consuming and expensive

  • they needed mints, printing, etc. (needed to convert everything)

• South had to start their own army and navy (lacked ships + infrastructure)